Washington (AFP)
Despite recent progress, the majority of American states to date do not have the sufficient capacity for screening tests to begin deconfinement by May 1, Harvard researchers conclude in an analysis published on Monday on the specialized site. Stat.
The analysis contradicts President Donald Trump's assertion that the United States has sufficiently upgraded its screening capabilities. Last week about 1.5 million tests were carried out in the country, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
In reality, 19 states are ready, say researchers at the Harvard Institute of World Health, such as Alaska and Montana, who were relatively spared from the pandemic.
But 31 states are still far from having the capacity to discover most of the contaminations quickly. New York, the largest American household, will have to carry out between 130,000 and 155,000 tests per day, against an average of 20,000 per day in mid-April.
Georgia, which started this weekend to reopen some non-essential businesses, will have a deficit of more than 5,000 tests per day, according to this analysis.
Researchers say they simulated a realistic scenario, leading to a national need for at least 500,000 tests per day by May 1, based on an epidemic model leading to 545 deaths on May 15.
Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, says the analysis isn't necessarily bad news: the number of tests increased a lot last week: 300,000 were reported on Saturday and 256,000 on Sunday, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
"The tests have been stuck for a very long time. The valves are finally starting to open!" Ashish Jha wrote on Twitter. "There is still a long way to go, but it is progressing!"
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